Computer-Assisted Translation (CAT) software: what is it?

In a world where translation is becoming increasingly essential for businesses and individuals, Computer-Assisted Translation (CAT) tools play a key role in improving the productivity and quality of work carried out by professional translators.

Unlike machine translation (or AI translation since the launch of ChatGPT), which generates a raw translation, CAT software allows human translators to work more efficiently thanks to translation memories, terminology databases, and other advanced features.

But what are the best CAT tools available in 2025? Here is our selection of the most efficient tools.

What is a CAT tool?

A CAT (Computer-Assisted Translation) tool is software designed to assist translators in their work, particularly to improve their profitability and, incidentally, makes the process more enjoyable and translations more coherent.

It is not machine translation generated by platforms like Google Translate, DeepL or ChatGPT, but a tool that assists the translator by offering suggestions based on translations carried out previously by the same translator or by other translators. This technical assistance is invaluable and saves considerable time, especially for large projects.

The main features of a CAT tool include:

• Translation memory (TM): stores already translated text segments for reuse or term search.
• Terminology database: ensures consistent use of terms stored in a glossary.
• Text segmentation: divides a text into segments (sentences, paragraphs) to facilitate translation.
• Text alignment: pairs corresponding source and target texts to create a translation memory.
• Support for various formats: allows for the translation of Word, Excel, HTML, XML files, etc., while preserving the layout.
• Spell check: like in word processing tools, the CAT tool detects and signals potential spelling and grammar errors.

There are a large number of CAT tools on the market...

There are a large number of CAT tools on the market. Some are dedicated to public use while other more sophisticated tools are intended for professional translators. It all depends on the need and usage. For example, we can mention:

• Trados Studio
• MemoQ
• Wordfast
• OmegaT (open source)
• Déjà Vu
• Phrase

These tools are widely used in the translation industry to improve productivity and consistency of translations. They each meet different needs, and all have their advantages and disadvantages.

As a translation agency, AbroadLink uses the two market heavyweights: SDL and MemoQ. These paid tools are intended for professional language services and offer advanced features. Their power and performance make them essential for carrying out large translation projects.

Difference with AI

With the arrival of ChatGPT and access to artificial intelligence, the general public has discovered the power of AI translation tools with rather satisfactory results (either with neural machine or generative translation). Similar to ChatGPT, we can mention tools such as Google Translate or DeepL.

What is the difference between CAT tools and AI translation?

As the name suggests, a CAT tool assists the translator through suggestions or searches from a database supplied with human translations. On the other hand, AI translation is 100% machine translation carried out without human intervention.

Fundamentally, the difference lies in the fact that CAT tools are based on a translation memory system capable of recognising segments already translated by human translators, whereas AI translation automatically calculates the probability of a word combination based on a large number of sentences.

In fact, one of the functions that CAT tools have is their ability to integrate with AI translation systems such as ChatGPT, DeepL or Google Translate, along with many others that are less well known to the general public. Thus, they are technologies that complement rather than compete with each other.

Conclusion

AI technology has been used for many years in the translation field. The first CAT tools date back to the 1980s-1990s and, although rudimentary, they already relied on computer assistance. These constantly evolving technologies always bring new solutions based on different approaches, which are often complementary. A good language service provider will know how to combine them to provide the best possible translation quality.